Halloween 2011 Roundup

I’m deeply disappointed in you. Let’s just get that out of the way, shall we? This year’s Halloween noted a stark drop off from April Fools Day shenanigans on university home pages by my measure. We only have a few times a year to flex some design muscles, and I think Halloween is one of those times to have some much needed fun and blow off some steam. Yet very few schools seem to have gotten involved this year.

Here’s a look at some of the examples I was able to find of Halloween inspired themes on homepages (along with an honorable mention video from UWGB, thanks @tsand!). Vassar, as seems typical, sets the standard. They’ve created a trend of involved Halloween designs, going not just for the visual, but also the interactive. I love Rochester’s photography as well (but that’s normally true anyway). What’s double interesting, four of the six schools below were also featured in the April Fools roundup (Vassar, Rochester, Radford, and William & Mary). Obviously that’s not an accident, and speaks to their teams’ planning and coordination. Good on them. Fistbump fireworks and all. But there is an implied lesson there, that you do have to plan for this stuff and think about it – it’s not just thrown together at the last minute.

College of William and Mary

Vassar College

The University of Texas at Austin

University of Alberta

Radford University

University of Rochester

So what’s up? Are we too busy? Unwilling to take the “risk?” Lack the skills? Resources? Has Halloween just jumped the shark? Why didn’t your school do a Halloween design, and are you planning anything for a future holiday? Share in the comments (and let me know of examples I missed)!